Join the battle against breast cancer Tuesday at sip. at the wine bar and restaurant.

The restaurant hosts Sips & Tips, a social networking event to bring together women in the spirit of friendship, community, empowerment and charity. The event, held the first Tuesday of every month, features a different theme, and offers opportunities to introduce local businesses.

Issaquah Police Chief Paul Ayers takes the first swipe at emergency dispatcher Jacqueline Kerness’ hair, which she volunteered to have shaved off to help raise money for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure breast cancer walk in September. By Chantelle Lusebrink

The Eagle Room at City Hall buzzed in anticipation as police dispatcher Jacqueline Kerness nervously sat down in a chair at the center of the room.

Stepping behind her, poised with a set of buzzing electric clippers, Police Chief Paul Ayers made the first swipe through Kerness’ hair, sending the brown locks to the floor.

“Here we go,” he said, taking a swath of hair from the base of her head. “I think it’s looking good.”

Shedding her hair June 30 was all for a good cause, said Kerness, who bravely volunteered to have her colleagues cut away. She has been interested in helping battle cancer since high school, and she had her hair cut in February 2009 as a donation to Locks of Love, the organization that makes wigs for cancer patients.

This time, Kerness’ colleagues bid to take a turn with the clippers, each time raising money for fellow dispatcher Carma Mathieson to participate in September’s Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure breast cancer walk.

“I have been bountifully blessed with health, so I walk,” Mathieson said. “It takes a huge commitment, because it is a lot of time away from my family, but they support me.

“I’ll do it every year, until cancer is done.”

Both of her parents, Francis Bingham, 70, and Helen Bingham, 73, died from cancer within the past 15 years, she said. Her aunt also died of cancer. She said she has had several friends and colleagues — during her 24 years as a city employee — who have been diagnosed with different cancers and have fought the disease. Read more

What could be better than hitting the outdoor patio at Coho Café? How about dining out to help find a cure?

Coho Café in Issaquah will host a fundraiser July 17 to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s 3-Day for the Cure walk in September.

The restaurant has teamed up with a dining membership company, allowing members to donate their meal savings to The Rack Warriors, a local team of 10 women who are walking in Seattle’s 60-mile event this September.

So, where do you come in? All you need to do is eat lunch or dinner.

The restaurant will host the event through its partnership with Passport Unlimited, a popular dining membership. With the Passport Unlimited membership, guests dining with other people typically receive their second entrée on the house.

During the event, instead of getting the second meal for free, you can pay for it and donate the price to The Rack Warriors. If you do, there are a variety of coupons and door prizes restaurant employees will award in return.

The fundraiser also occurs at Coho Café in Redmond and both Arnies locations in Mukilteo and Edmonds.

What could be better than hitting the outdoor patio at Coho Café? How about dining out to help find a cure?

Coho Café in Issaquah will host a fundraiser July 17 to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s 3-Day for the Cure walk in September.

The restaurant has teamed up with a dining membership company, allowing members to donate their meal savings to The Rack Warriors, a local team of 10 women who are walking in Seattle’s 60-mile event this September.

The Evergreen Hospital Medical Center Mammography Coach will be open 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. each Wednesday until further notice at the Evergreen Primary Care Center Sammamish, 22850 N.E. Eighth St.

The 40-foot mobile digital mammography coach contains the same digital mammography equipment used in the Breast Center at Evergreen Hospital. Patients will register in the reception area and complete a clinical history form in a relaxing environment. After changing into a gown in a private room, a mammography tech performs the exam.

The mammography images are interpreted at the Breast Center by board-certified breast radiologists. Screening mammograms are also analyzed with computer detection tools. The radiologist’s report is then sent to the patient’s primary care provider.

When patients call 899-2831 to schedule their mammograms, they will be offered the option of an appointment in the mobile coach or at the Breast Center at Evergreen Hospital. You do not need to be a patient at an Evergreen Primary Care Center to access the mobile mammography coach.

When the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force made new recommendations for breast cancer screening in November, Susan Woerdehoff said she was shocked.

“I thought it was ridiculous,” said Woerdehoff, 43, who was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer at age 38. “I didn’t necessarily understand it. But it was concerning. It didn’t seem to benefit the greater good.”

What the Bellevue resident said she didn’t understand was the recommendation to move away from years of standard practice.

The federally appointed task force recommended that women at average risk should wait to get routine screening mammograms until they’re age 50, instead of the current standard of 40.

It also advised that women ages 50 – 74 get them every two years and discourages doctors from advising women to examine their own breasts regularly.

The guidelines seek to reduce overtreatment. Downsides to screening include false-positives, radiation exposure and psychological harm, according to the task force report. Read more

Irma Dore and her son, Chris, are training for an experience of a lifetime — the Breast Cancer Network of Strength’s Ride to Empower, a destination bike ride Oct. 22 – 25 in Red Rock Canyon, Nev. Read more